Chapter 365: Joy

I nodded, and Second Uncle lit another cigarette, saying, "You've read no fewer books than I have. You've read the Basic Annals of Qin Shi Huang, right?"

I nodded. The Records of the Grand Historian was required reading for an antiques dealer, so of course I had read it. He continued: "What about the Book of Han?"

I nodded again. He said, "Have you noticed? All these ancient Chinese emperors, big or small, whether they were peasant-born leaders or legitimate royalty, once they achieved success and brought peace to the realm, they invariably engaged in one kind of behavior: seeking immortality."

"The pursuit of eternal life is the ultimate dream of any emperor — it's not strange. If I had never had to worry about money, could kill anyone I wanted, and could marry any woman I pleased, then my only remaining aspiration would probably be to make that kind of life go on forever," I echoed.

Second Uncle ignored me and just continued, "If you open the history books, you'll find that, really, this pattern is nearly impossible to break. And the more founding emperor they were, the more extreme they became — Qin Shi Huang, Han Wudi, Tang Taizong..."

I nodded. That was indeed true. Human nature is unchanging across generations; no matter where you stand, when the time comes, you too will see death approaching.

"But the so-called secrets and legends of immortality become more and more vague the closer you get to modern times. Many emperors believed that clues to the art of longevity lay in the tombs of ancient alchemists, so naturally, teams would appear to carry out field explorations for the emperor. Such teams often sold dog meat under the sign of a sheep's head." He looked at me and smiled. "And the men in these teams were the most formidable experts among the common people. Since ancient times, grave robbers, southern and northern earth immortals, and molybdenum captains were often recruited and pacified. At certain times, under the weight of brute force, you had no choice but to pledge loyalty — for the sake of your family, you could only bow your head."

"But this kind of business was never meant to see the light, so throughout history, none of these people ended well. Moreover, in such teams, there were always those who wanted to shake off the pervasive control. And the matter of longevity was not only attractive to emperors and generals — it was a tremendous temptation for the seekers themselves. When they actually discovered some clues, they couldn't help but have their own ideas."

"They would often tell these ideas to their brothers or families. These family members had seen storms and walked on the edge of a knife — they were bold. So plans would emerge to carry out those ideas. Some plans failed, some succeeded, and some were impossible to tell whether they succeeded or failed. But one thing was certain: once discovered, those people's doom arrived."

He paused and put his arm around my shoulder, saying, "But some plans could stay hidden for a very long time, even across dynasties. By then, both sides had reached a certain consensus, and no one wanted it to be exposed." Then he looked at me again. "Especially 'It'."

I wouldn't dare say I completely understood Second Uncle's story, but I did grasp what he was trying to say.

To be honest, I had never imagined that behind all this was a matter of that category. No wonder Brother Chu had told me I couldn't keep investigating. In the silence, I connected what Second Uncle had said with some of my earlier conjectures, and I suddenly found that many things became reasonable all at once.

I asked, "Then is this place here also one of the sites involved in 'It' activities?"

Second Uncle nodded: "I'm afraid so. That's why I knew about this village a long time ago. As soon as I heard from Panzi that you had come here, I felt something was wrong and told him to bring people over immediately. Anywhere those people went was bound to be extremely dangerous."

"Then do you know what exactly is going on here? What are those things?" I asked Second Uncle.

He thought for a moment and said, "Those... might be Miluotuo."

"Miluotuo? What the hell is that?"

"Miluotuo is the ancestor of the Yao people. In their mythology, their first goddess was born from the mountains. I suspect that those monsters are the prototypes of Miluotuo." He pulled an iron block from his pocket. "The first time this goddess tried to make humans, she created iron men, but iron opposed her divine power, so she failed. Those miners back then sealed the stone men with iron — obviously they were Yao people familiar with the legend. Your guess is probably not far off."

I nodded. Second Uncle continued, "As for how these things came into existence, probably no one knows. From your description, this seems a lot like a religious ceremony — you were treated as sacrifices, waiting there. Those things exist deep inside the mountain; it would take a long time to get them down. I think what you encountered may have been arranged by someone."

He had the same feeling, which confirmed my intuition, but I said, "But I told you, that mine had no exit at all."

He thought it over and patted me on the shoulder. "I told you before: whatever has happened, regardless of the phenomenon you saw, it happened. Since you got in, there must be an entrance. Not finding it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The entrance must be there." I gave a bitter smile. When Fatty had said that earlier, I had the same thought, but not finding it was not finding it.

Second Uncle's walkie-talkie suddenly rang. He picked it up, said only a few "uh-huhs," and hung up. I continued asking him why he had brought so many people when he came looking for me. That was ridiculous! What were they all doing by the lake?

Second Uncle's face was grim. He only said, "There are some matters. This time, thanks to you, we wouldn't have found this place otherwise. As for the purpose of coming here, I can't tell you yet. When things are confirmed, you'll know naturally." He looked at his watch. "The business here has just begun, and we don't have much time."

"Is it related to Third Uncle? Or to 'It'?" I asked.

Second Uncle smiled. "Don't rush. When the time comes, you'll realize how trivial everything you've experienced truly is. Don't ask now, and don't go prying. If you want to look into that young man's past, go ahead. But when it comes to me, don't try any of your tricks. I'm different from Third Brother. I won't let you act recklessly."

Second Uncle didn't say anything more to me. Unlike Third Uncle, I wouldn't waste words arguing with him — it was completely useless. He meant what he said, and if he said he would tell me once things were confirmed, he absolutely wouldn't break his word.

He said he would stay here for a while longer. I could wait here or go elsewhere for a walk. But from now on, I had to report my whereabouts at all times — he wouldn't let me run around wildly anymore.

Worried about Fatty and Poker-face, I left the village a week later and went to the hospital in Fangchenggang. Yuncai and Agui led me to their ward. Both were fine.

The doctor said that neither of their injuries was fatal — they had just lost too much blood and gotten infected. Fortunately, both had excellent constitutions. The incense ash I used to stop the bleeding also had a bacteria-isolating effect, so they were saved with just a blood transfusion. That incense ash was really critical; if they had bled another palm's width of blood, even a celestial being might not have been able to save them.

I learned to use incense ash to stop bleeding from listening to Shan Tianfang's pingshu storytelling. I never thought it would actually work — guess I should listen to more pingshu.

When I saw Fatty, I almost wept with old-age tears. In just a few days, his body had fattened back up — he didn't look at all like someone who had just walked through the gates of hell.

When Fatty saw Yuncai arrive, he got all disoriented again and wanted to get out of bed to show off his invincible body.

They roughly asked what happened to me afterward. I told them everything — how I stuffed Fatty's intestines back in and how I dragged them out of there.

After hearing this, Fatty was dumbfounded. He said no wonder he'd been feeling lately like his intestines were running the wrong way — every time he wanted to poop, he'd burp — and told me not to put them back in backwards.

Talking about that, we started discussing the whole affair. I took out a piece of paper to show them. Earlier at Agui's place, I had drawn a floor plan of the ancient village from memory.

But discussing it that way didn't lead anywhere. Fatty started making a fuss about taking us out for patient meals.

We waited a moment, but Yuncai didn't move. Turning back, we found her staring blankly at the lake-floor floor plan, completely unresponsive — clearly absorbed by something.

I was a bit surprised. The floor plan was simple to draw — there really wasn't much to see. I exchanged a glance with Fatty, and he asked her, "What's the matter, little sister?"

Yuncai pouted and looked up, saying, "Two bosses, this lake-floor village you drew — it looks just like Banai."